Anacreon Synthesizer | Anacreon 2.5 Released
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- KVRAF
- 10361 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
Hopefully not dead! I just got a new Mac M1 thingy and hope this little awesome synthesizer gets compiled for the latest Mac ARM processors!
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot
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- KVRAF
- 1586 posts since 7 Jun, 2007
Sounds a bit harsh Frantz particularly as Erich was open enough to mention his cyclical mood issues. Anyone who has experienced any frame of mind which is not "themselves" for whatever reason will understand how debilitating and disorienting it can be, and getting back to "normal" afterwards doesn't always happen according to schedule. I'm sure he's doing his best over the crazy festive season mid-pandemic when tech support at Presonus may not have prioritized his queries about vst3 compliance. Let's have patience and faith that Erich sorts this out. He's obviously passionate about Anacreon, so I doubt it would die a sudden death.
Wishing you strength Erich!
Just to add my 2 cents, I finally got to try out the demo a little while ago on a Dell i7 Win10 64bit using Studio One v2 as host. Also no sound no matter what I did. I thought there must be something obvious I was missing, but my own health issues prevented me from reporting my experience. Seems that there's something odd happening in Studio One for sure.
Cakewalk by Bandlab also flagged the dll as unstable, and hence unusable.
So as much as I've been dying to try out Anacreon I haven't had any success here with those two DAWs. Really hoping you manage to get to the bottom of this Erich as I think the synth sounds truly superb.
Just for interest's sake, which DAW do you use? Live? Keep going bud, Paul
Wishing you strength Erich!
Just to add my 2 cents, I finally got to try out the demo a little while ago on a Dell i7 Win10 64bit using Studio One v2 as host. Also no sound no matter what I did. I thought there must be something obvious I was missing, but my own health issues prevented me from reporting my experience. Seems that there's something odd happening in Studio One for sure.
Cakewalk by Bandlab also flagged the dll as unstable, and hence unusable.
So as much as I've been dying to try out Anacreon I haven't had any success here with those two DAWs. Really hoping you manage to get to the bottom of this Erich as I think the synth sounds truly superb.
Just for interest's sake, which DAW do you use? Live? Keep going bud, Paul
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- KVRAF
- 1586 posts since 7 Jun, 2007
A little bit of clarity regarding those Studio One screenshots on the previous page. S1 opens all instrument plugin windows in a shared window to avoid clutter, so the tabbed plugins you see there are not on the same track, although it's easy to (incorrectly) interpret that as being a midi insert effect placed before the Anacreon synth.
The audio effects for each track are also displayed in a tabbed window, and those are listed in series as you would expect.
Understandably confusing for someone who isn't familiar with S1.
The audio effects for each track are also displayed in a tabbed window, and those are listed in series as you would expect.
Understandably confusing for someone who isn't familiar with S1.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
Dear KVR Residents,
I am back. Project is not dead - think of me as a crazy person who happens to be driving the bus you're on and I just fell asleep at the wheel for a few minutes. I lost complete interest in programming sometime in November, straight up anhedonia for an activity I'm supposed to love. There's a reason I don't self host anything except the demo version, which is back up for anyone who wanted to try it but couldn't. For reference, in Anacreon's lifetime, I've taken around ten breaks of this magnitude, this just happens to be the first one you've seen.
A little bit of backstory - I learned C++ specifically to program a VST synthesizer. Although I've been doing it off and on for the better part of a decade, I am not formally trained in programming and I constantly feel like I'm in over my head. The StudioOne bug utterly vanquished me and I lost all interest - I was so angry and frustrated with it. I just didn't have the steam in me to power through. I still don't know why this plugin is so crashy on certain deployments / DAWs. Probably because the entire VST framework is a festering corpse of disagreements and partial implementations presided over by a design-by-committee bureaucratic nightmare of a corporation... or maybe because I've done something bad with memory management? Not sure yet.
(Steinberg, if you read this, please don't revoke my license - I'm just venting. You guys are responsible for the most widely used audio plugin architecture of all time, you're not really that bad... but what's up with outlawing VST2.4? Seriously?)
I'm going to have to relearn my entire codebase and see what needs fixing. In the past, a few month's absence has given me the ability to transcend opaque bugs and get around the issues that put me off in the first place. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to do figure out what's broken here and get past it.
xalama qo - thanks for the defense, I'm sorry to hear that the demo didn't work and then you had health problems on top of it, that sounds like a crappy set of experiences. How are you now?
frantz - you're absolutely right to question whether this project has died. For the last few months, I wondered if I would ever come back and continue it. Just know that, if I ever truly gave up programming forever, I would pass on the codebase to someone else or make it open source.
bmanic - not dead yet!!
I am back. Project is not dead - think of me as a crazy person who happens to be driving the bus you're on and I just fell asleep at the wheel for a few minutes. I lost complete interest in programming sometime in November, straight up anhedonia for an activity I'm supposed to love. There's a reason I don't self host anything except the demo version, which is back up for anyone who wanted to try it but couldn't. For reference, in Anacreon's lifetime, I've taken around ten breaks of this magnitude, this just happens to be the first one you've seen.
A little bit of backstory - I learned C++ specifically to program a VST synthesizer. Although I've been doing it off and on for the better part of a decade, I am not formally trained in programming and I constantly feel like I'm in over my head. The StudioOne bug utterly vanquished me and I lost all interest - I was so angry and frustrated with it. I just didn't have the steam in me to power through. I still don't know why this plugin is so crashy on certain deployments / DAWs. Probably because the entire VST framework is a festering corpse of disagreements and partial implementations presided over by a design-by-committee bureaucratic nightmare of a corporation... or maybe because I've done something bad with memory management? Not sure yet.
(Steinberg, if you read this, please don't revoke my license - I'm just venting. You guys are responsible for the most widely used audio plugin architecture of all time, you're not really that bad... but what's up with outlawing VST2.4? Seriously?)
I'm going to have to relearn my entire codebase and see what needs fixing. In the past, a few month's absence has given me the ability to transcend opaque bugs and get around the issues that put me off in the first place. Fingers crossed that I'll be able to do figure out what's broken here and get past it.
xalama qo - thanks for the defense, I'm sorry to hear that the demo didn't work and then you had health problems on top of it, that sounds like a crappy set of experiences. How are you now?
frantz - you're absolutely right to question whether this project has died. For the last few months, I wondered if I would ever come back and continue it. Just know that, if I ever truly gave up programming forever, I would pass on the codebase to someone else or make it open source.
bmanic - not dead yet!!
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
thanks to everyone for their combined effort at debugging this crazy thing - your involvement keeps me going! I appreciate all of you.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
Well - turns out StudioOne doesn't pass on parameter changes unless that parameter is marked automate-able. There are LOTS of routing parameters in this VST so I chose to make them non-automated, which works for most hosts. Frankly, it makes good sense not to expose those parameters, and according to the VST specification, I am handling non-automated parameters correctly.
Apparently, some hosts like StudioOne decide that non-automate-able parameters simply don't exist and will not be passed onto the underlying processor. Unless I'm wrong, StudioOne is probably REALLY broken for a lot of VST instruments because of this.
I will release the patch today.
Apparently, some hosts like StudioOne decide that non-automate-able parameters simply don't exist and will not be passed onto the underlying processor. Unless I'm wrong, StudioOne is probably REALLY broken for a lot of VST instruments because of this.
I will release the patch today.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
The patch is released!
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- KVRAF
- 4277 posts since 3 Jan, 2003 from Vancouver
Happy to see your name on here again, Erich. Best wishes to you for healthy and fun bug-smashing and feature-adding. I'm content to wait for updates. I still have my ukulele, guitar and bass to play.
Anacreon fills the hole that VazPlus left in terms of sound quality. For me, anyway.
Anacreon fills the hole that VazPlus left in terms of sound quality. For me, anyway.
the old free version may not work boots successfully on new generations of computers, instruments, and hardware
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
@pough - thanks for the welcome back!
@ xlama qo - I use Ableton Live. I havent tested in StudioOne v2, only v4. I'll check bandlab and cakewalk and StudioOne v2 if I can find copies.
@all - if someone could try the latest release under whatever StudioOne version they have handy, I would appreciate it!
@ xlama qo - I use Ableton Live. I havent tested in StudioOne v2, only v4. I'll check bandlab and cakewalk and StudioOne v2 if I can find copies.
@all - if someone could try the latest release under whatever StudioOne version they have handy, I would appreciate it!
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
@bmanic - I cannot afford a new mac anything, but according to my buddy Alex, there might be a way to run in a VM and compile for some newer apple hardware. stay tuned!
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- KVRist
- 202 posts since 14 Jun, 2020 from Adelaide, Australia
If it's any consolation, C++ also makes professional programmers feel as though they're in over their head.Erich.Pfister wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:50 pmI learned C++ specifically to program a VST synthesizer. Although I've been doing it off and on for the better part of a decade, I am not formally trained in programming and I constantly feel like I'm in over my head.
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- KVRAF
- 6325 posts since 18 Jul, 2008 from New York
I am glad things are moving forward again.
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- KVRAF
- 10361 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
I totally understand! It's an extreme minority right now in the Mac side of things so don't worry about it at all yet! I'm pretty sure 99% of your current potential customer base is still on Windows/MacIntel.Erich.Pfister wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:50 pm @bmanic - I cannot afford a new mac anything, but according to my buddy Alex, there might be a way to run in a VM and compile for some newer apple hardware. stay tuned!
These new Macs are really impressive and for the first time ever, the Mac is the "more affordable" option in terms of raw power. It is staggering how much faster this thing is than my previous top of the line i7 (skylake, so a bit old in the tooth to be fair) we have in the studio.
.. and I got this silly little Mac Mini for interest free 22 euros a month payments. Thus if this kind of pricing will continue with at the low-end of the Mac's future, it'll quickly gain popularity I think.
Anyhow, I still use and have my Windows laptop around so don't be afraid of shooting me a PM if you need any help with beta/alpha testing stuff! I'm a HUGE fan of your synthesizer and the amazing unique sound it has. Really like that it's so unconventional and unique. It's got a very clear own identity both in aesthetics and sound that already makes it a classic!
Also, stay strong man! Health, be it mental or physical, is no joke! Taking care of that takes priority nr 1, always.
Cheers!
bM
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 222 posts since 24 Jul, 2020
@ahanysz - "frequently questioned answers" made me laugh, thanks!
@frantz - me too. I can't promise I won't disappear again, but I'll try to let you all know in advance next time. After taking that break, I came back and immediately found out what was crashing and fixed in 2 hours what I had been trying to fix for at least a month. I think that shows that I should be taking breaks, albeit in a more managed fashion.
@bmanic - I'm looking forward to seeing what ARM can do for us, I do believe that this sort of architecture is the future, especially with looming energy crises on the horizon.
As far as testing goes, I'm hoping that my most recent version will fix issues with various DAWs. Here's the list of "need to test" DAWs: Cakewalk, Bandlab, and StudioOne v2, v4, v5. If anyone happens to have any of those, I would appreciate feedback on how it runs! Even just a simple report like "Windows 10 64 bit, bandlab, it works" would go a long way.
Regarding mental health - I'm mostly mentally healthy, just a bit anxious / paranoid. When I stopped programming, I spent my time outdoors in nature, lost some weight, etc. I experienced an upswing in mood / energy, but it was just impossible to make myself sit and spend mental energy on programming during/after my 9 to 5 job. If anything, I program when I'm feeling less mentally healthy - go figure! I'm going to experiment with limiting programming time and interleaving some physical activity to break things up and keep me from getting too obsessive and burning out again. I appreciate your emphasis on mental and physical health.
@frantz - me too. I can't promise I won't disappear again, but I'll try to let you all know in advance next time. After taking that break, I came back and immediately found out what was crashing and fixed in 2 hours what I had been trying to fix for at least a month. I think that shows that I should be taking breaks, albeit in a more managed fashion.
@bmanic - I'm looking forward to seeing what ARM can do for us, I do believe that this sort of architecture is the future, especially with looming energy crises on the horizon.
As far as testing goes, I'm hoping that my most recent version will fix issues with various DAWs. Here's the list of "need to test" DAWs: Cakewalk, Bandlab, and StudioOne v2, v4, v5. If anyone happens to have any of those, I would appreciate feedback on how it runs! Even just a simple report like "Windows 10 64 bit, bandlab, it works" would go a long way.
Regarding mental health - I'm mostly mentally healthy, just a bit anxious / paranoid. When I stopped programming, I spent my time outdoors in nature, lost some weight, etc. I experienced an upswing in mood / energy, but it was just impossible to make myself sit and spend mental energy on programming during/after my 9 to 5 job. If anything, I program when I'm feeling less mentally healthy - go figure! I'm going to experiment with limiting programming time and interleaving some physical activity to break things up and keep me from getting too obsessive and burning out again. I appreciate your emphasis on mental and physical health.
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- KVRAF
- 1586 posts since 7 Jun, 2007
Great to see u back Erich! I'll check again on that Dell asap, it's gone for a service atm.
Really looking forward to having Anacreon up and running, a real character synth indeed.
Really looking forward to having Anacreon up and running, a real character synth indeed.
